A Tryst with Destiny
by mfnikki97
Summary: When Michael Westen has been sent to track down bad guys in Ireland...he needs some help. Suddenly the one person who was so not his type became the only one he could trust. Find out what happens when he meets his special someone in Ireland...
1. The call of the mission

_**A/N: **__Ok guys! I'm warning you now itself it's going to be a long saga! I am going to try and do the near impossible task of recreating Mike/Fi's history and my best to explain how they met and what it and for them in Ireland and Germany._

_Warning: if you guys are going to get angry with me for not writing a good Mike. I'm telling you now I'm not writing a good Mike Westen because he is not Michael Westen! Following what he said to Fi in the episode 'Hot Spot' about how McBride was her kind of guy and they caused a lot of havoc in Ireland and he had a way with the gals. McBride in this fic is going to be mostly a soul-sketch of Fi…Still I hope you guys enjoy and please review good or bad! As Woody Allen said "If they aren't saying anything bad that means you aren't doing that good" So…=D after boring you with that Dr. Phil crap. Ok…here goes! Oh! Wait…by the way if you feel I've missed an important point do tell me because you know they keep referring to their history here and there and in itsy-bitsy amounts. So sometimes it's very easy to miss! Enjoy :D :) And please review :S :) :D :P_

"Yeah."

"Listen! Big calamity has struck at HQ!"

"Um…What's new? That place should be re-christened as House of Horror…Sometimes I tell you I must have been drunk when I filled in that Application form!"

"Let's not cry over drunken choices! Listen I'm telling you the truth! I was hanging around the HQ-"

"Another trait I can't understand!"

"SHUT UP! SO…I was hanging around the HQ when I see our bosses huddled together over…get this!...the photocopy of our company files!"

"Our? You mean yours and mine? Don't they have the original? Hell! They compiled it!"

"Exactly! I pried a bit and found out they have the original to my files but yours are gone!"

"Gone? Mine? Where to? Who took it?"

"Ya…now we reach the killer bit…it seems that a guy walked in at about mid-day with some heavy duty credentials and threatened the bosses of something so much they just spat out our files. I'm guessing job or life…though looking at the way they are shaken up I think life…"

"With credentials! Nah! Job with pension minus honor discharges my bet!"

"Whatever! That's moot! What we do know is that your files are out to the world and the bosses would do a crap about it!"

"Well I don't blame them…after being a cubicle monkey for decades you don't expect anything but lethargy in the bones…But this guy….hmmm…sounds like a real charmer…

Let me guess- Goggles on with a hat so no video IQ?"

"Check!"

"Mittens on so no finger prints?"

"Check!"

"Name in a stupid alias?"

"Check!"

"And basically no one has seen the guy so he's a ghost!"

"Ah! There sis…lies the catch…plenty people have seen him but all in false alias and some or the other feature of this mystery man is always altered so no can agree on any fixed feature!"

"So basically the guy is a ghost?"

"Yup!"

"So…great!"

"What? That's it?"

"Yeah…"

"Maybe you're not getting the urgency of the situation…let me elaborate…there is a guy out there….a really powerful guy with your file and we don't know what he's here for!"

"Look if he has my file that means he either wants to be my biographer or he wants to work with me…either way he'll have to meet me then we'll see…Anyway it's time he knew that what the files say about Fiona Glenanne is fictitious, if he needs to know me, he would have to really know me! And then Sean, the fun will start!"

Shutting the phone and slipping it into her pocket she whispered to no one in particular, "Oh! We'll have fun indeed!"

*(*)*

To be truthful, Fi was intrigued…this identity-less man had something about him… a sense of expertise and unique touch…almost a magnetic field of attractiveness around him. Fi laughed and shut the motel door behind her…

Fi walked down the alley she had left her car in. It was obscure in a sense but it had surprisingly good horsepower and Fi liked feeling she had a lot of power under her fingers, in cars and in men. Most of them didn't know how easily she could get what she wanted from them…it was just the matter of humoring their great egos and letting them achieve their silly ambitions.

Fi had been in the game long enough to trust her instincts and she kept feeling that uncanny feeling one gets when they are being followed and try as she may she couldn't get it to go away.

_After you've spent a few years being hunted and hunting, you tend to value the sixth sense that is cultivated from years of being hardboiled and try as you may…eggs don't un-boil themselves. _

So she walked normally down the road and turned to the side street, she walked a considerable distance before suddenly digging into her bag she removed a pair of sunglasses, then in the most unassuming way she wore them. After walking two steps she stopped again, tilting a little bit on her axis so she stood at a 45 degree angle. She grimaced removing her glasses and flipping around she lifted them into the air to look for any smudges. She then wiped it vigorously on her T-shirt and lifted it again to look for smudges. Staring at it with a little smile she wore them back on and walked till the end of the street before turning a corner rummaging in her bag all the while….she'd seen just what she had needed to see. A pair of feet.

Michael stood at the corner of the street, staring at this little performance. His decision to follow this woman a little bit before approaching her to make sure about what to beware of was turning out to be a waste of time. From the talk on the street, she was pretty well known to be the little firecracker but from what he had seen of her she lived a very diffused life… she sat up holed in her motel room most of the morning and then suddenly around mid-day she left to go to the chemist and the hardware stores, her list of items had been just ordinary, glycerin, perfume, sanitary wipes and a pack of chewing gum from the chemist, and a pair of gloves, some plastic, brick-molding equipment and a pack of different sized duct-tape. Stuff that according to the shopkeeper every Tom, Dick and Harry bought…

She then had gone for lunch at a bistro on the highway 'Armadillos' and had an exceptional amount of coffee and a doughnut to boot, then over-tipping the waiter, she went back to the motel and was holed up there until now when suddenly at 3:30 siesta time she decided it was time to haul ass…Frankly he was bored, he was expecting a little more sizzle to her life because according to her Interpol and company files she was a brain-frizzler…one of those renegade types, she lived by her own rules but people apparently took her shit 'cos they got results….How was still a mystery to him….

He had practically given up and after hanging around a little while longer just for the heck of it and then followed her slowly strolling his way down the alley….God! He so needed a cup-of-Joe right now…

_When you're a spy, it's easy to think of people as incapable or incompetent. This is one of the many reasons that spies…end up dead. _

He turned the alley and found it to be a small rabbit-path of an alley. There was hardly any space for 2 humans to stand side by side let alone her Fiat…this didn't feel right to him; right in the middle of the road was a mobile phone lying on a handkerchief. Walking up to it warily he picked the phone up, then picking the handkerchief up he noticed a small '_fg'_ sewed on the side. Flipping the phone around, he slipped it into his pocket then he noticed her bag lying a few feet away….this was odd behavior; why would an apparently sane woman leave her phone and her bag in the middle of the road? Walking up to the bag he put his down to pick it up but before he could touch the bag…his pocket vibrated in a jaunty tune. Pausing half-way he dug into his pocket and got the phone out.

"A message?" he said raising his eyebrows. Shrugging he accepted it….just 1 word, 3 letters but it chilled his blood…it was a simple verb, a command 'RUN!'

Looking into the bag again he saw a block of C-4 with a detonating cap on it with its red blinking light. He was on a clock…racing to get as far away as possible before the red light stopped blinking and he'd be blown away to Stone Age….turning the corner in the nick of time, there was a blaze of light after which he heard the most ear deafening blast…covering from the force of the blast, he tilted his head to see a Fiat slow down in front of him…the window rolled down to show a smug Fiona looking at him...She didn't live a diffused life; she diffused lives! Hell! She was truly brain-frizzling.

The phone buzzed again….gritting his teeth for another 'surprise' he flipped it open.

"_That my dear friend, is to remind you that I know everything…Get the balls man! Stop stalking, Meet! Don't make me feel sorry I didn't blow you up! And get outta there! The cops probably know my MO…Anyway good to see a guy with some skill…it took me a long time to spot you…this is your contact to me and oh! I almost forgot…since you're so hot on getting to know me then at 10:30 PM sharp at The Mean Fiddler pub. Don't be late…"_

And she flirts with me after having almost vaporized me. Mike! My friend this is gonna be one dangerous chick!


	2. Rendezvous Point

'_Not a good idea Mike!"_

"Come on! You know I need her for the job anyway so might as well approach her directly."

"_Mike she's dangerous and extremely quick witted. I'm sorry man, I think you've met your match. Like she's your Kryptonite man."_

_**Some people just don't get it. Spies are trained to deal with everything. When it's your handler that happens to be the 'some people', you just hope you've got a docile one like me and go with the wind.**_

"Dan that is my mother you're talking about"

"_Funny! Hahaha very amusing! She almost blew your ass off! I just got back the chemical analysis on the Irish Fallujah down there. Did you see the walls? They have cracks that run all the way to the other side. They found dustbin can particulates like miles away from the site!"_

"Look at the bright side Dan! If she wanted me dead I'd be dead but clearly since I'm alive, she's intrigued, I tweak the interest and she's an exquisite asset. Think about it…we'll know where the Irish are with their investigation since she's a part of the core group and she knows the geography better.

"_That's all fine"_ Dan Siebels admitted grudgingly admitted "but if she kills you-

"No one's gonna blame you. I'll tell them."

"_so when did a dead man start talking?"_

"Fine! I'll email you a signed document. Will that do?"

"_For the moment" _

"So can I have my identity? I have my first meet tonight and I wanna look presentable."

"_Dressed to impress huh? Fine…emailing it to you…now…Done!" _Mike turned on the new mail he got. Overriding all the security encryptions put on it, he turned it on to see what Dan had chosen this time.

"Michael McBride? Michael. McBride. What are you thinking? Are you out of names for aliases? How about Joey or Mark or Anthony or the oldie goldies Jack, Jackson. John, George etc? Why are you using my real name? What you want to get rid of me or something? 'Cos this certainly will do that for me. And McBride? Which century was I born in?" Michael asked indignantly.

"_Look it's a good idea. Its one of the most common name and surname individually so I just put them together. Your Irish, as Irish as can be. Now just learn up will ya? I have a lunch meet with my wife and I'm trying on keeping her with me for another year at least!" _Dan said gruffly before cutting the call.

Turning his cell phone off Mike got back to memorizing the details of McBride's life.

_**A major part of being a spy means being in ease with switching in and out of characters or cover-ids. Yet that does not mean that every cover-id you get is a pleasant one…yet, you still have to do it.**_

"My name's Michael McBride…No that was horrid…_Ma name's Miechael McBrieeed_….better….more Irish I guess….this is a screwed up land with screwed up people with funny accents …I hate this place!"

…_**oh yeah and you may not like the place either**__._

_*(*)*_

Michael walked in sharp at 10:25 into the bar that Fiona had told him. It wasn't in the most metropolitan part of Belfast either but the crowd was roaring, then again if half the rumors about Irish and their drinking habits were true, bars would be the only business that ran here….apart from aspirin that is…

Walking up to the bar he sat on one of the stools, beckoning one of the tenders towards him.

"Scotch, small, on the rocks" If Fiona was lying in wait, looking at him; he didn't want to inform her about his mounting paranoia. Playing it cool was the game of the day.

Shortly the bartender came back with his drink. Michael took slow, deliberate sips…he needed to look like a real interest and especially after yesterday's debacle, and he needed a one –up on his to boost his ego. Only when half his glass was empty and a good half an hour had passed, he was slowly loosing his patience…what did she think he was? Her PA?

_**A bar is really a great information hot spot for most spies…a few drinks down and everybody is ready for a good pillow-talk.**_

Seeing the bartender he decided to broach the subject lightly.

"Listen…um…Boy this is embarrassing err…I was waiting for this…woman…we were supposed to …um hook up? And I can't seem to be able to spot her anywhere. Like I need serious help buddy!"

The bartender grinned sympathetically at him. "It's alright man, we get a lot of guys and babes like that. You're in company bro! Just tell me what she looks like. I'll see if anyone's seen her."

_**When giving out information, when in pursuit of a person, spies have a trade-trick called 'the W'. When telling out information, see if they match to all your W questions. If you can answer all your 'W' questions without leaking out sensitive information….you're in business. Of course it may take a little practice to do this fast in your head.**_

"Yeah um…ok! She is short around…eh 5"3 , very thin, auburn long hair, slightly wavy, very attractive… crazy look in her eyes" Michael broke out giving a fake nervous laugh and the shuddering slightly to remember the same look she gave him when she almost blew him up… "Likes a lotta guns and explosive….just you know-

"I know who you are talking about! Oh my god! She did it! she managed to lure one more fly in her dumb plan. God! She's a tight little vixen that's what she is! You're trying to date Fiona Glenanne? Are you crazy? Pick your ass up and run away as fast as you can! She is insane dude!"

"Yeah I'll take my chances. In the mean time, since you know this woman…can you please tell me where she is?"

"Sure dude! I'll find out for you...if you need it…anyway it'll be easy enough, considering she's almost everywhere, you'll be able to find her somewhere roaming around…"

Michael rolled his eyes as he watched the bartender jump over the counter on to the other side, mingling with the crowd to find Fiona.

10 minutes later, the guy made his way back telling him; she'd send someone to direct him to her. He also added a good luck…

Probably right after the bartender went to attend some other folk, a waitress walked up to him and said "Are you that dude? The guy Fiona wants?"

"Yeah." It was difficult hearing her above the ungainly music but the insane amount of chewing gum she was salivating over, just made it so much harder.

"Ya know… she's called you into the restricted area. It's employees only…must be one of her special men….hope ya have a good night" she said winking at him.

"It's strictly business"

"Oh! Yeah some business it'll be…trust me from the stories I've heard of her…she's _Lady Dominitrix_"

Michael looked in disdain at the woman in front of him, platinum blond with tight clothes in the LOUDEST colors hiding the biggest bust which was definitely surgically enhanced and wearing heels taller than a building; she still only reached up to his chin. Still, he had gotten used to the idea of tiny Irish women and towering Irish men.

"No..it's gonna be strictly non-coital business…and what I do is pretty much personal…thank you"

The woman raised her hands up and said "Alright! We go in silence then…"

"I'd like that very much, thank you"

They walked up a flight of stairs in complete silence…

"So what's your name again?"

Michael rolled his eyes again. "Michael McBride. And what happened to maintaining silence"

"Ok Michael, We're there anyway." She said opening a locked door and standing aside to let Michael walk in.

'Uh…I do not see her"

Suddenly behind him he heard the sound of a Walther P99 .45 caliber. He turned around to face _Blondie_ who was now holding a gun at him.

"You do not see her, because you don't look in the right places." Blondie said slowly pulling her wig off and chucking it behind his shoulder.

"Hello."

_**This is what happens. This is what happens when you take things for granted and stop using your head…you get killed. NOT a pleasant experience.**_

"Great." He said rolling his eyes at the woman who now looked like a hybrid species of Blondie and…

_Fiona_

_Former Blondie_

_a.k.a_

_One dangerous chick_

How the hell could he have missed this? If he ever got out of this alive he was going back to training and boot-camp again. If…

"Fiona…Good to meet you" he said trying to give her the most charming smile he could ever possess.

"Good to meet you to." She said miming the 'turn around' action. He sighed…did this woman never get flattered? Slowly he turned around putting his hands behind his head. He could feel her warm body inching up next to him and a hand easing in from underneath his jacket and wrenching the gun out of his waistband. Suddenly the warm body was there no more and he turned around slowly to face her again. "Ok lets not get all trigger-happy now, Fiona."

She smirked, walking a few steps back opening a drawer and quickly pulling out a zip-tie, throwing it to him. "We'll see about that"

After sighing and rolling his eyes multiple times, he put the zip-cord around his hands. "come on lets go. You and I have a lot to talk about."

"I don't wanna go through the pub. I am not gonna let any of those blokes see me"

"Yeah..I cannot be seen with a gun either. We are gonna take this exit" she said pointing towards a door. "Now move it drama queen!" she said nudging his shoulder with the muzzle of the gun.

Michael walked towards the door and opening it, he started walking down the rickety stairs.

"so what's your name?"

"I told you didn't I?"

"Yeah…and I believe you don't I?"

"It is Michael McBride. I didn't lie to you"

"Let me decide that. What are you here for?"

"Your help"

**_Author's note- Ok guys i know you think 2-3 years is too much time for him to spend with Fi but if you do the math...it's kinda sketchy. if he left Samantha (yay he left her!) in about two- three years of meeting, he'd have left her by around 1999...so he probably had around 2-3 years with Fi, then some buffer time to do crap around the world before landing up in Miami in the winter of...2006? yup, i think so... _**

**_anyway i know its highly confusing...leave it to me i'll do the hard job...you guys do the harder one...plzzz review :) :) :)_**


	3. Covert Conversations

Twenty minutes later Michael was sitting in Fiona's SUV, something he did not know existed, zip tied to the handlebars.

"So why exactly do you need my help?" she asked conversationally.

"I need to find a group of people…who are indirectly connected to your line of investigation. You'd probably only charge these people with petty crimes after your done interrogating them but…I could use the information they have for some reasons."

She looked at him disapprovingly "total truth "

"I work for a group of people that well…get rich exponentially on a…lets just say…on a not so legal basis and they just found out that all their notes are counterfeit so I guess they don't own so much anymore…well I work for them trying to find the sons of bitches, that did this and hand them over for the proper treatment. In my investigations, I found out that your working to pull down this organization that these men are taking refuge in, so I thought If I help you find the organization and you help with my group of people then it'll be a sort of win-win right?" he ended a little hopefully.

"So…you need me to help you bring down the minions of the big guys?"

"…in a sentence" he said nodding uncomfortably.

"And in return, you'll help me find the guys I've been after for the past decade! Do you intend for us to be partners for the rest of our lives?" She asked staring at him in the most amused manner.

"Trust me. With all the resources I have unwarranted underneath my fingertips…you'd be kissing this case _Adieu _within a matter of 2-3 years."

"2-3 years? Are you kidding me? What are you superman? It's impossible to finish that fast!" she asked, her eyes were literally popping out at him.

"Well that's what some people call me" he said raising one eyebrow at her. "Great! so now we all ready to catch those thieving bastards huh?"

Fiona looked a little less enthusiastic "Yeah well I don't think they are thieving that much…I don't like catching them…I do it because it's the job. I do it…because if I don't they'll replace me and find someone else to do it anyway. I do it because, if I try to help them from the outside, then the bad guys and I _both_ take a trip to jail." She said fervently.

Michael felt a little intimidated. She was talking to him like as if he just asked her, her opinion in world politics…or peace or war or something. Shrugging, he decided to go with the simpler question. "How do you reckon?"

"Ok remember 5 years back…when Ireland's economy was down in the ditches? We asked for feudal help from our neighb-

"You can't be telling me…Ireland asked for cold, hard cash! Who does that?"

"Nobody did. And our government, being the general turkey's head in that sand that it is…it refused to print more Euro notes…so basically without boring you with more economic crap, we were slowly turning broke. It was in this time of crisis that this group of people started printing counterfeit Euros to circulate in the market to do what our own government neglected to do. Our economy improved, but by then we were so dependant on the counterfeit notes that they couldn't sieve it outta the system so the government soon came to know and now-

"They're making you hunt these Robin Hoods out." Michael concluded.

"Yeah so I don't think they deserve the jail but I can't do much."

Michael nodded in agreement, ops like these demanded strong willpower and the fact that she could do what she did for years despite being against it was commendable.

"I'm sorry but this is still a sore point with me." Fiona said apologetically.

"don't mention it." He said patting her shoulder, which sent a heated spark through the both of them, causing Michael to abruptly withdraw his hand. She looked at him a smile lining her face, suddenly,

"Hey! So now we're partners right? So some ground rules: 1. Radical honesty. No lies ok?" he simply nodded. " dependence. We entrust our lives to each other." Again he just nodded. "3. No going on hiatus! No ditching me and coming back after 6 years or something!" this time he laughed and then nodded.

"Ok! So that's fixed!" Fiona said smiling again "I must tell you I can't wait to start working with you! We're going to be a great team"

Michael smiled back at her. "We sure are"

*(*)*

"Where do you stay?" she asked him after they had shared a moments worth of comforting silence. Michael kept silent for a little while, the spy in him felt totally cornered and defensive but the human being in him completely understood.

"I stay at the Sloppy Hog's Motel off Lauren's Cross Avenue…ok you can stop laughing it's a completely normal name! Yes ha ha! Very funny, lets cut that!" he said reprimanding Fiona who was now rolling in laughter.

"Oh…my god! What a name! Sloppy," she said bursting pelts of laughter again "Hog's motel! That's shady alright? All right don't give me your death glare I'll shut up!" she said as Michael glowered at her with all the power he could muster. She bit her bottom lip to stop her and even tried pursing her lips together but she started snorting 15 seconds later and then it all went south…

Michael stared at her laughing as the shadows played on her profile as she shook in the effort to control herself. He smiled, he had to! She had a very catching and attractive laugh and it was getting as contagious as a yawn. _Geez! This won't do! Control, Michael control!_

She finally recovered and said "Where did you say _this_ motel is situated?"

"_this_ motel is on Lauren's cross avenue…which is like 4 miles away so I'd appreciate it if you'd drop me there…it's 2:30 and I'm sleepy. And I think I'd like to rise early which is not possible now though.

"Ok grandpa!" she said, raising her hands off the steering wheel. "The fields aren't going anywhere." She looked at him sarcastically.

"I'm just _saying_…its just a matter of habit" She gave him one of her looks, the one he'd soon get used to and compartmentalize in his 'Fi's looks' department. But right now…it made him squirm…_considerably._

_*(*)*_

She stopped a street away from the motel. He looked at her questioningly to which she said sheepishly "If I see the motel's billboard, I'll die of laughter…literally cos I'd probably crash into some poor bloke or tree or something"

He rolled his eyes and gave her his 'get-a-life' look as he opened his car door.

"You'll meet me at 11 tomorrow on the terrace of the 'Ardent' Hotel, ok with you?" she asked.

"Yeah except why on the terrace with all and sundry listening in?"

"IRA quarters. I know fancy huh? Part of the Ardent service is a private terrace for the person staying in the presidential suite. So I figured I'll have home ground advantage and I can throw you down the terrace if you molest me."

Michael smirked "can't wait" he said slamming the door. He had work to do. Fiona stared at him walking away. A million thoughts whirred in her head.

_I'm making a mistake! He's dangerous…I can feel the vibes…what am I doing! Is that cologne? Must be aftershave. I hope its not some sort of deo… Shut up! You are sniffing around like a mongrel for food! Nope its definitely aftershave... I'm hopeless! No falling for partners! Spoils the alignment of the universe Crappy for business! Deep, calm breaths…relax! You're in control of this situation as usual. You know what you need? Sleep! That's what's needed! I refuse to lose the careful sense of order and decorum I demand while I work._

She rested her head against the wheel. She did not need a distraction. Or more aptly…an attraction! Her phone buzzed. _Great! A distraction! _She thought elatedly.


	4. A whole lotta plans

_**Author's note: Thank you for all the lovely reviews :) and im sorry I updated after so long… I had gone off on a vacation, and I could not update anytime soon. **_

_**On a different note, Purdys Pal was kind enough to mention to me that in the given timeline of the story, Ireland had not shifted to Euros…so this is a slight glitch in my story that I would request everyone to overlook and the next time I talk abt currency I shall specify the correct type :) A huge thanks to her for bringing this to my notice. **_

_**Anyway, enjoy this chapter :)**_

* * *

><p>"Hello?"<p>

"Hey sis!" came a totally excited voice.

"How did it go?" came another identical voice except this one was slightly deeper.

"What are the both of you doing calling me in the middle of the night? You guys are jobless!" she said trying to suppress her grin.

"Yup jobless, that's us! Now, how was it?" came the more determined voice.

"Are you implying to the meeting?"

"No Fiona! We mean the sex you had last night! Of course we are talking about the _date_ you had with your secret admirer. So open the hole and start blabbing."

"Oh god! It wasn't a date it-

"Ya Andrew! How could our sister, our righteous sister ever go on a date? A stranger one too? She isn't the blind date type of girl at all! That is _so_ not how she got her last three boyfriends. She was a _good _girl and met them at Sunday mass! And no fornication at all!" Came her brother's sarcastic and dramatic voice, reprimanding his twin.

"Oh yeah right! Yes, that's what happened, thank you for opening my eyes Matthew." his brother quipped.

"Touché! Fine the joke's on me, so can we shut up! What do you guys want? I don't know why the both of you want to talk together…I mean it's difficult handling one of you guys at one time but the both of you together…" Fiona shuddered.

"Hey we came into the world together, will go out of the world together and do everything in between together!" Came Andy's voice indignantly.

"OK! OK! Fine….I'm just saying. You don't have to act like your umbilical cords are still attached to each other you know?" Fi said defensively.

"Well they are, so deal with it! Anyway how'd it go?"

"Um….I don't know…..Ok I guess… did trick him again….but otherwise he's nice I suppose (_his aftershave definitely is)_ ….and…sure he needs a lot of help though-

"Which you shall do for him because you love estranged, handsome, smart, he-puppies" Matt said laughingly.

"He's not a… I hate the both of you! You guys suck! I hate you!" she said sulking.

"We love you!" pat came back an answer seconds before the phone was switched off. Fiona sighed….of all her brothers, she was closest to them, chronologically and mentally with less than a year's age gap between them. She had depended on them for everything for as long as she could remember. She started her car to head home to try and get some sleep…it was gonna be a long night.

* * *

><p>And once again Michael found himself waiting…only this time it was at a luxurious hotel terrace instead of a seedy bar. '<em>But still'<em> he reasoned with himself, '_a wait's a wait.'_ He was going to drink the coffee the waitress had so kindly put out for him when…she walked in. Suddenly he was a mental mess. A whole jargon of dumb thoughts filled his head as his mouth fell open.

'_O-K! What the-! Who is that? Crap! Her Interpol photo is an apology! Is she really that hot! DAMN! And what he hell is she wearing? Where's the baggy sweater and coat she was wearing yesterday? …Nice swagger! Yup, she's shaking it alright… ASSET! ASSET! She's your asset! Use and throw…no attachments! Assets with benefits…Yup that's what it is! Man!'_

Michael snapped his mouth shut and bit his bottom lip to stop himself from getting the kicks.

Fiona smiled at him and settling down said, "Nice weather huh? I mean I woke up and it was so pleasant that I decided on something nice and…um…un-baggy!" She had no idea what her un-baggy apparel was doing to him. "Lovely sunny day! Summer-y…perfect!"

Huh? Did she just say 'summer-y'? It was dull and gray and windy and cold and there were so many more adjectives he could come up with for unpleasant weather conditions. "Yup a day fit to be called summer." It's not like he could say 'No'!

"So should we get down to boring business?" she asked.

"Yes, please" he said clearing his throat. '_Anything to get out this desperate frame of mind!' _

"Ok so I checked you up Michael. And I'm sorry to say this…you checked out. So you are not phony." _'Memo to self: Thank Dan profusely'_ "Are you abreast with the latest on the case? Because-

"Wait…" Michael said, immediately switching into spy mode "Why are you so ready to help me? I mean your ready to give out sensitive case info to…well, a stranger?" she just laughed.

Fiona had to laugh….the entire train of suspicions was rather amazing. She knew he would question her motives someday, yet he expected it to be some time later. '_Good thing I have a ready answer'_ she thought.

"Well it's quite a sensible decision if you look at it through my eyes. You obviously have clout….you proved it when you smuggled our files. You look pretty damn unstoppable, so not a lot my rejection will do. And you seem rather trustable…You know a sort of intuitive 6th sense tells me you are a nice guy, and if you are not…what better place to foil your evil plans from than the center of the mess itself? If you wanted to do something….well, I wouldn't be here at all would I?" she said ending in what could only be the most nonchalant shrug he had ever received in such matters. He had to be impressed by her answer; a few people could clear matters as fast as she did. _Must have helped build her repertoire._

"So who are these people you are fighting against?" Fiona asked munching on her toast.

"Yeah it's a group of people…sort of sub-division I think….call themselves the '_Annuit Coeptis'. _That's Latin for…

"God favors our undertaking. First time extensive lessons in Latin helped. I've met up with them often…Cocky bastards….No way we can pin any evidence on them the usual way. We know it's them….but they're too smart, don't leave any useable evidence behind we'll probably have to pin it on them illegally. Problem is no one is that trained here. So we've kinda ignored them up till now…guess we can't anymore. Got any expert in mind? It's a 2 man job at the least…I'll need a partner." She said matter-of-factly.

"Yeah, me." He said matching her tone. "I'm highly capable. Test me. You need a partner….well here I am." He finished, cocking his head to one side. _How dumb does she think I am? What do I do like! A desk jockey? _

"Cute. But I don't care for sloppiness." she said narrowing her. "It's not easy, the group is tight-knit, well-spread smart and absolutely ruthless! I don't like liabilities; they get killed, and get others killed too." Fiona's spark had kicked in but she knew what she was talking about, she had lost two partners in the last 7 years….none of them had really died because of _her_ but because of their own incompetence. Still she didn't care to have that kind of psychological burden on her. _Like I don't have enough guilt in my life that I need to add accessory to death in that list._

"Look I know you seriously underestimate me-

"Save it. If you're that good, you'll survive…but the point is, as long as we're working together, we owe our lives to each other. I don't want either one of us to live with the 'I-survived-while-my-companions-died' guilt. Believe me….I speak from experience…Nothing…absolutely nothing in the world hurts more than the deadened feeling you get when you're part the reason for someone's death."

She looked away but the alive look in her eyes had drained away leaving a rather empty shell in its place, and if it was possible her face darkened visibly and suddenly the smart, cocky, independent and kick-ass woman was replaced by a more sad, repentant and damaged soul. As quickly as it came it had gone and her facade came right back on, though still visibly shaken, she had gotten back some color in her face. _Wow, what just happened to her!_

Clearing her throat, she resumed "so as I was saying…Fine, out of lack of a better option I'll take you but no sloppiness. Make a mistake and if you're not dead, I'm sacking you."

_It'd be a shame to sack such a guy but just too bad, I don't believe in collateral damage._

"I'll take my chances" Michael said grimly. "So what do these people look like?" Fiona started laughing…

_So funny! What does she think I came to her for? Her comments?_

"You're just as much in the dark as us huh?" she said till widely grinning. Michael's pupils dilated. _What they don't know? _"You guys don't know how they look either?"

"Nope. Not a clue. We also don't know how many are there."

"_No_ idea?" he asked hopelessly as she just shook her head.

"That's part the reason we can't find them."

"Oh no! I just thought the Irish government was keeping that card safer to them."

"Oh no Ireland really has no cards to play in this matter, we really have no idea…we don't know how they look, how many are there, where they operate from, their funding…really nothing." She stated rather dryly…

_For being a short coming on her side, she was taking it quite well_ "Oh" he said not quite knowing anything better.

"Bet now you don't want the partnership huh? Well, you're free to go if you want to."

"No, I still maintain I have a better shot at finding them with you then anything else" Michael stated confidently.

_Apparently she's impressed._

She looked at him before smiling widely. "Welcome to the partnership…the hardship, the fun, the games, the struggle…in short…welcome to my world!" she said raising her coffee mug up to him. It could have been an ode to him and their partnership but he lifted his mug and clinked it with hers…. They shared a mutual smile.


	5. A change in tempo

Fiona walked into the IRA headquarters, Belfast…After ID-ing in four times, she reached her section. Government field operatives did more important and dangerous work, yet their cubicles were no different then those of the accountants. Sitting on her chair, swiveling around, Fiona spent some time on her computer, of course there was nothing there for her, and so she started playing pinball…

"Agent Glenanne! In my office, now!"

She looked up in exasperation at her burly Irish Highland Boss, John O'Carter. In all her years of being under him she had never really gotten used to the boom quality of his voice, he was one of the only people Fiona was actually scared of and for a good reason too, of all the people Fiona had seen, he was one of the best brains in the system. That of course made it rather inconvenient too because he could read her like ABCs. She hurried; he hated being kept waiting…

"Agent! Where the hell have you been? You have been off the bloody radar for a week now!" She cringed, Agent when he was mad, Glenanne when he was fine and Fiona when the days were shinier.

"I have been worried sick about you!" And then there was the genuine disguised fear.

"Laying low…something's not right" she said and suddenly it all turned to business…

"Intuitive?"

"No! Funny things are going on. I'm pretty sure someone's broken into my house."

"How can you tell?"

"I have a cabinet by the door…left slightly open, furniture has been moved too."

"Did they take anything?"

"Nope. I think it's their way of warning me …or they caught wind of me and now are trying to find out more about me."

"Who is 'they'?"

"'They' is the '_Annuit __Coeptis'_. They are a group of people I'm now targeting. Actually me and my partner…"

"Partner?" he asked sharply. There was no use of hiding that out so she gave him the entire story.

"Great! Now who's this new pain in the ass you've gotten."

"McBride's not a pain in the ass! At least not up till now! You've gotta trust me on this!" Fiona said inching towards the door…she wasn't feeling particularly confident now.

"I seem to trust you too much nowadays. This better not back fire on us or it's your head on the chopping block, with my ass of course." he said grumpily.

She nodded and scooted out…

"What's up? The old bear maul you?" Leroy, her colleague asked her.

"Nothing, just another beautifully normal boss, employee melting…you know 'the promotion is the next in line' type."

Leroy laughed as he sat down. Cilia swiveled in her chair and said, "He whooped your ass, didn't he?"

Fiona sat down, "Totally!"

* * *

><p>Michael sat staring at the roof of his bedroom in boredom. Things were going rather slow for him this past week. He hadn't met Fiona in over a week and things were too safe for him. So there he was, sitting in his boxers and throwing a ball in the air to try and pass the boredom.<p>

Suddenly he heard a ring. Fumbling around he pulled out the phone Fiona had given him. She had left him a text.

'_At my place, in half an hour max! Don't be late! Keep ur senses sharp! They may be behind u too…_

He shut it as he pulled on his jeans. _Now who the hell is 'they'? This woman is crazy! _Shaking his head he grabbed his rental car keys and ran out of his room.

* * *

><p>He stood in front of Fiona's suite door. He was going to knock but before his knuckles could touch the door, it opened, just the tiniest little bit…and a voice from inside whispered, "Come in quick!"<p>

Since the entire arrangement was freaking him out just a little bit too much now, he squeezed his body through the small gap. The door almost shut on his hand. Inside he found a very pensive looking Fiona looking at him urgently and then pushing him to the side, she went and triple-locked the door and a pushed a cabinet against it. She looked at him, a slight frenzied expression in her eyes and asked, "Did anyone follow you here?"

"No?"

"So you're absolutely sure no one has seen you coming here?"

"No I'm not absolutely sure of that"

She gave him one of her most harried looks and started walking away from him.

'_She does not drag me out of bed and drag me halfway across Belfast to just ask me some stupid questions and leave me at that!' _he took two quick strides up to her and holding on to her shoulders he twisted her around to face him, he gave her one of his most penetrating glares and asked "Fiona? What. Is. Going. On?"

She looked at him and sighed before saying, "I don't know. All I know is nothing is going right…and something is going really horribly bad"

'_Great! My specialty' _"Tell me from the start" he said dragging a chair towards him and looking up at her expectantly. She looked at him and started pacing around the room as she recounted "Ok I went to office today…to update my boss and to see if any more leads had come up. Turns out nothing new…so I decided to get some of my work straightened out. I opened my email…and I get this new email from an unknown server. I open it and its just a bunch of cryptic codes, alphabets and numbers, here check it out," she said handing him a slip of paper from inside her purse, "Some of it is simple…its just stupid army code, that I decrypted…but the rest I couldn't do anything about…so I took it to our senior cryptologist…and got it checked out…turns out, the code is set to an octave!"

"Octave?"

"Yeah! Music! What sort of psychotic guy does that?" she said practically yelling.

"So what did you finally get?"

She swallowed and turned the page in his hand and let him see for himself what had shaken her up so badly.

_Well, Well, Well_

_Looks like someone has been sticking their head out of the woodwork a few too many times…_

_Let's put it this way, you're a lady of brains and we have no qualms about letting it decorate the walls._

_Don't take this badly, you've got a job to do and so do we…only difference, we are here for the long haul, try not make sure its not your body we're hauling, honey._


End file.
